Russell Casse
| deathdate = July 4, 1996 | profession = Fighter pilot Crop duster pilot | marital = Widowed | spouse = Maria Casse |children = Miguel Casse, Alicia Casse, Troy Casse |actor = Randy Quaid |firstseen = Independence Day |image = |caption = |deathplace = Area 51, Nevada }} Russell Casse (died July 4, 1996) was a Vietnam War fighter pilot and crop duster from Imperial Valley, California who sacrificed himself to destroy a City Destroyer threatening Area 51 during the War of 1996. Biography Background Russell served as a F-4 fighter pilot for the United States Air Force in the Vietnam War. Around 1986, he claimed that he was abducted by aliens and attested that they conducted several experiments on him that led to his trauma and his belief that they are planning to kill humanity. His story was disbelieved by the public, earning Russell mockery from his peers and consternation from his family. When his wife got sick, Russell could not give her enough attention, because of his obsession in searching for clues about his abduction. This led to her death, and to Russell's drinking problem and straining his relationship with his children, especially his eldest son Miguel. He and his children live in a camper, and he worked as a crop duster pilot in California's Imperial Valley. War of 1996 By the advent of the aliens' arrival in July 1996, Russell was arrested for papering city hall with leaflets from his crop duster in an desperate attempt to warn the public that the aliens are a threat. However, Russell was soon released as the authorities was focused on more pressing matters in light of the aliens. After the aliens began their attack, Russell and his family joined a large convoy of refugees and come across Captain Steven Hiller with a captured alien. Guided by Captain Hiller, the Casse family and the refugees traveled to Area 51. Russell later volunteered in President Whitmore's counterattack on the aliens, assigned to fly a McDonnell Douglas F/A-18C Hornet. During the attack on Area 51, Russell was integral in destroying the alien City Destroyer, as he was piloting the only available fighter jet with a missile left to destroy the Destroyer's weapon port. All the others had exhausted their missiles. However, the AMRAAM missile jammed when he attempted to fire it. Russell then made a fateful decision by flying his jet directly into the weapon in a suicide attack. Before making his sacrifice, Russell sends a heartfelt request to ground control, which is also heard by Miguel, to "Tell my children...I love them very much." Russell's suicide attack succeeded in destroying the alien ship, saving Area 51 and his family. Legacy After the war, Russell was remembered as a war hero, and his name is etched in a national memorial at Washington, D.C. alongside with other participants who also died during the War of 1996 after the capital was rebuilt.Independence Day: Resurgence His death served as an inspiration to Jake Morrison, who looked up to him as a role model for proving that a broken person can become a better person.Independence Day: Crucible Gallery Rus 00.png ScreenShhot097.jpg Rus_03.png ScresenShot050.jpg|Russell getting arrested. ScreenShotf053.jpg Rus_04.png Rus_05.png ScreenShotk006.jpg Rus_06.png Rus_07.png Rus_08.png Rus_09.png Rus 10.png Rus_11.png Rus_12.png Rus_13.png Rus_14.png Rus_15.png Death and Sacrifice July4 54.png July4 55.png July4 56.png July4 57.png July4 58.png July4 58.5.png July4 59.png July4 60.png July4 61.png July4 62.png July4 69.png July4 70.png July4 71.png July4 72.png July4 73.png Alternate death Alternate ending 02.png Alternate ending 03.png Alternate ending 04.png Alternate ending 05.png Alternate ending 06.png Alternate ending 07.png Alternate ending 08.png Alternate ending 09.png Alternate ending 10.png Memorable Quotes Appearances *''Independence Day/''novel *''ID4: Independence Day'' Behind the Scenes *In the original ending of Independence Day, Russell was disallowed to fly. However, he arrives at the end of the battle flying his crop duster (which he has been towing behind his motor home) with a missile strapped to its wing and flying it into the City Destroyer's weapon. Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin admitted that this implied that Russell flew into the battle planning to commit suicide since he could not launch the missile from his plane and therefore scrapped it in favor of having Russell making the decision to sacrifice himself after he was in the air helping the cause, both for the emotional reason of allowing the audience to see Casse make the decision to die for the human race and the practical issue that having the biplane keep pace while flying amongst F/A-18s was "just not believable". This alternate scene was added in the movie's special edition. The scripted version is also included in the film's novelization. *Russell's alien abduction story is never made quite clear on whether his claims were a real experience or his own delusion. The Marvel comic-book version however indicates that his abduction was real and that he was abducted by the same aliens that would arrive in force in 1996. In the novelization, Russell sees the alien captured by Steve Hiller and was unable to recognize it as the same creatures who abducted him, which left him doubting about his abduction. However, he only saw the creature's bio-suit, which in fact contains an alien that is described to be identical as his abductors. *Russel's biplane, a Boeing-Stearman PT-17, was the only actual flying airplane seen in Independence Day as all the other fighter jets, airliners and other planes were either mockups, models or digital creations. *The explosion that Russell caused by flying into the weapon was the same explosion effect used for the destruction of the Empire State Building. The VFX-Team just turned the effect upside down. References Category:Americans Category:Characters Category:Independence Day Category:Independence Day (novel) characters Category:Pilots Category:Deceased